1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to dental prosthetic devices, including full and partial dentures. More specifically, the present invention concerns a dental prosthetic device having a softer base component comprising a remoldable material, such as a thermoplastic material, which conforms to at least a portion of a dental arch, and a harder component comprising one or more teeth-like structures embedded or otherwise associated with a mounting surface of the softer base component.
2. Background
Dental prosthetics, which include partial and complete dentures, can help people in many ways, including improving their appearance and self-esteem as well as their ability to chew food and speak clearly. The usefulness of dental prosthetics is reflected in their at least 2700 year history, during which time they were made of materials such as bone and wood.
Modern dental prosthetics, especially the base component which contacts the dental arch, are commonly made of acrylic, other hard plastics, or metal and can require several initial appointments over one or two months to construct and achieve a proper fit and appearance, and periodic adjustments to maintain a proper fit as the shapes of users' dental tissues change. For example, following an extraction of many or all teeth, tissue and bone may take many months to heal, and, during that time, prior art dental prosthetics can suffer problems with support, stability, and retention, and can create sore spots on soft tissue because of changing fit. Furthermore, the underlying bones, particularly the mandibular arch, can continue changing for many years and require periodic refittings, possibly as often as every five to seven years. For these and other reasons, modern dental prosthetics can be prohibitively expensive for some people.
Due to these and other problems and disadvantages in the prior art, a need exists for a dental prosthetic device that is less expensive to make, fit, and maintain.